Radnor

Last season, the Radnor baseball team got a taste of what the District 1 Class AAAA tournament is all about for the first time. This time around, the Red Raiders plan on taking a bigger bite of the apple. Adam Erkis drove in the go-ahead run in the top of the ninth Monday and ninth-seeded Radnor won at No. 8 Cheltenham, 8-7, for the first Class AAAA playoff win in school history. Connor Wilson's RBI single with two outs in the top of the sixth tied it at 7-7. Wilson had three hits and drove in two runs.

The Friends' Central baseball team won its second Friends Schools League championship in three years Saturday, behind a no-hitter by senior righthander Aaron Ross. Ross struck out seven as the host Phoenix defeated Germantown Friends, 6-0. It was the second time this season that Ross no-hit the Tigers. "That's huge on a championship stage," Friends' Central coach Ross Trachtenberg said. "He worked off his fastball, and his slider was excellent today. He challenged hitters and got ahead of hitters.

  The sound of bugles echoed across the grounds of the Radnor Hunt Club around 1:25 p.m. Saturday, and 12 horses trotted toward the starting line of the afternoon's first steeplechase run. Officially, the 83d annual Radnor Hunt Races were about to begin. But by then the festivities already were in full gallop. Thousands of patrons surrounding the track - many of whom had already spent hours eating, drinking, and socializing - swelled toward the fences to catch a glimpse of the race, and most sported their finest racetrack attire: bright sundresses and extravagant hats for the women, tweed blazers and ties for the men. The scene resembled a jubilant lawn party, a blend of sport, drink, dining, and mingling, and many attendees Saturday were quick to express their love of the festivities.

The Radnor Hunt races are scheduled for Saturday at the race course, which is about 45 minutes from Philadelphia at 826 Providence Rd., Malvern. There are six steeplechase races, starting about 1:30 p.m., with about a half hour between races. The course is roughly a mile around, and the horses run clockwise around the circuit two or three laps, depending on the race.   Tickets may be ordered online at www.radnorhuntraces.org or by phone at 610-388-8383.

Apparently beaten down the stretch run, Irv Naylor's Decoy Daddy made a clutch late move that carried him to a head victory over Gustavian in the $50,000 National Hunt Cup on Saturday at the 83d annual Radnor Hunt Races in Malvern. Similarly, Rainbows for Luck came back from a nearly seven-month absence to win the $40,000 Radnor Hunt Cup over timber fences by a nose. Trained by Brianne Slater, multiple stakes winner Decoy Daddy took the lead after the first two fences in the 23/8-mile National Hunt Cup and was jumping well for jockey Carol-Ann Sloan.

The 83d Radnor Hunt Races, featuring established and budding star horses in U.S. steeplechase racing, will be run Saturday on the grounds of the Radnor Hunt in Malvern. Six races worth a total of $180,000 in prize money will be conducted over the W. Burling Cocks Memorial Racecourse, where a crowd of close to 20,000 is expected. The two most lucrative races are the $50,000 National Hunt Cup at 23/8 miles over brush fences, and the $40,000 Radnor Hunt Cup at 3¼ miles over timber fences.

The Radnor Township Planning Commission has rejected Villanova University's request for a zoning change that would allow a major expansion of the Lancaster Avenue campus with new dormitories, a parking garage, a performing arts center, and stores. The $200 million plan has upset residents, who say it would transform a quiet neighborhood into a noisy extension of the 10,600-student Wildcat campus. The university was seeking a conditional use to allow denser development than allowed, Planning Commission Chairwoman Julia Hurle said.

Radnor coach John Begier handed his boys' lacrosse team a few long-term goals in the first weeks of preseason practice. Win the Central League. Get to the district tournament. Qualify for the state tournament. Be the last team standing. The Red Raiders checked off the first goal on the list Tuesday with a 14-2 win at Marple Newtown. Mike Cherry scored four times and Peter Donato had three assists as Radnor won its first league title since 2003. The title will be shared with Conestoga.